Reported in the Guardian this week the BBC’s gender pay gap is not so much a single chasm as a series of geological fault-lines. The most egregious discrepancy is that top rates of pay are skewed towards men by two-thirds, and that on-air talent is doing remarkably similar jobs for very different rewards.

Lack of opportunity for women is still a very real issue. A lack of senior female figures on the boards of UK business and industry greatly undermines our economy and makes for a perpetuation of male dominated patterns of behaviour in the professional world. So is this the same in all industries? The art-world perhaps?

Gender imbalances continue to plague the art world in 2017 is a matter of fact. However, to employ an old adage, Rome wasn’t built in a day—and we’d be remiss to overlook progress when we see it. Women in the arts today are (finally) getting their turn. Helen Marten scooped this year’s Turner Prize. Georgia O’keeffe ‘Weed and White Flower’ selling for an excess sum of $44 million. Both these facts compound that perhaps gender equality within the art world is reducing? Although George Thornton Art maybe a modest sized gallery within the industry, we do boast an almost 50 / 50 ratio between female and male artists on our books and with prices ranging from £500 to £5,000 these women are certainly making a huge impact on our accounts and with our clients! No gender pay gap either. Its a strict ratio across all our artists. No inequality here, just really great art!

You can view work by our celebrated body of females below and further compositions can be found on our website.

What do we think about buying that piece of art? More specifically what do we think about large statement pieces? Bringing a statement artwork into your home isn’t as daunting as you may think… It has the potential to change your living environment with monumental impact and inspire you to think around further inter design projects within your home or office. It doesn’t have to be that piece which ‘just fills the space…’ Having a statement piece not only finishes off a room design but also shows off your personality and tastes. Depending upon colour and content it has the potential to change your mood and energy.

As we move ever closer to spring and with an element of warmth in the air we have chosen 10 large, vibrant, statement artworks from our portfolio of emerging and established artists

Alicia Dubnycykj is an exciting artist who brings a sense of the speed and vibrance of her chosen cities to stunning life on her large boards.

‘Bettie Page’ by JJ Adams

This original to the sold out signed limited edition is available via appointment within our gallery. A piece of much content, box canvas, framed within a black modern frame and reaching almost 6ft in height.

‘Bettie Page’ by JJ Adams

This original to the sold out signed limited edition is available via appointment within our gallery. A piece of much content, box canvas, framed within a black modern frame and reaching almost 6ft in height.

Within the context of “ART” the subject supports such personal, social, cultural and creative development, and enables participants, both collectors and artists themselves to engage with ideas and meanings. Welcome 2017 and the gallery is proud that with new media we are looking forward to showcasing a host of imagination and creativity.

New artists are booked for this year. We have an eventful year planned of gallery exhibitions and art fairs. Keep up to date via social media, this platform and be assured in the knowledge that our gallery display, changes weekly with new art arriving all the time. Looking for that perfect statement piece or adding to a collection? See what we have to offer…

With news that house prices are once again rising out of control, that they need regulating and that a new bubble is forming, should we be concerned about the art market?

In this particular case what I mean by the art market is the very top end. The end reserved only to the top 1% of the world’s population. Just last month the New York branch of Christies held an auction that took almost 745 million dollars (Approximately £450 million sterling). Making it the highest grossing auction ever!

In the past such highs, such records have always come before a fall and it may be worth keeping an eye open for signs of a fall. Like most economic trends the art market is very much cyclical seeing drops fall in the 1990’s the 1970’s and during the Great Depression at the end of the 1920’s when many established Victorian and Edwardian artists whose art were breaking the records of their time crashed enormously, inflated initially by the types of auction we saw at Christies last week

Marc Quinn’s, sculptor of Kate Moss outside Christie’s New York which sold for $1.3million

The art market seems to have survived the latest crash, buoyed by investors from emerging markets in the Middle East, China and the newly wealthy looking to build collections. Another factor in all this seems to be a growing trend to guarantee the art coming to auctions, it transpires that 40 of the 72 lots on offer last week had already in theory been sold.

These guarantees cement high prices for the works of art pre-sale and prevent those works (and the artist) failing to sell looking weak in the eyes of the market. If the sale goes over the guarantee then the piece is sold to the highest bidder while the party who placed the guarantee gets a cut of the sale. This practice although not new is becoming increasingly common and threatens to artificially market prices. On the other hand, it also protects investment and does stave off market crashes and benefits us all across the entire art world. This practice is really no different to other measures imposed on the housing market, the banks and other sectors to try and ward off financial hardship.

Despite the warning I gave earlier, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of these records or market highs just yet. The art market having survived the latest economic downturn relatively unscathed appears even more appealing to those looking to invest.

Here at George Thornton Art we may not quite be selling our works to the 1% of society (yet), but a number of our artists, such as Kate Brinkworth and Laurie Williamson are already selling through auction houses. As in all areas, the artists we sell are driven by the fashions coming out of the top end of the market and the gallery thrives on a new breed of art fair, where buyers reflect and mirror the trends established at these types of events. Hopefully the art we deal in the gallery today will be tomorrows masters.